A recent article in AusDoc described how GPs’ involvement in reporting adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to the TGA has declined massively over the past 20 years.

This was based on research which indicated that from 2003 to 2016 the proportion coming from GPs went from 28% to just 4%, with hospital and community pharmacists taking over as key sources.

In fact, the situation was worse than this, with the proportion of GP reports dropping from 35% in 2001, and rather than hospital and community pharmacists taking over as key sources, the pharmaceutical industry is now the major reporter of ADRs, rising from 27% in 2001 to 54% in 2017, while GP reports dropped to less than 3%.

Pharmaceutical company reports often lack quality and yield little in terms of safety messages.